Show your sweetie how much you love them with these Valentine’s Day Cupcakes. Simple yet delicious from-scratch vanilla cupcakes dressed up for the holiday!
Cake is my love language, any shape or form. But there is just something extra special about cupcakes that I love, and these Valentine’s Day Cupcakes hit the mark on so many levels.
This from-scratch recipe features light, fluffy, and moist vanilla cupcakes topped with vanilla buttercream frosting, which makes them the perfect cupcake recipe to have on hand for any occasion.
I’ve dressed up my classic vanilla cupcakes for Valentine’s Day, and I just love how simple and cute they look!
Not everything has to be over-the-top extravagant… I’ve been known to go all out in the past, but sometimes you just want a classic, and that’s what these cupcakes are.
I absolutely love that you can serve up this recipe for any holiday by just switching out the frosting color and sprinkles, easy peasy.
My Valentine’s Day Cupcakes are perfect to make for your loved ones this holiday but also perfect for any holiday school function. I’ve made these more times than I care to admit, and I always get asked for the recipe!
Some of our other favorite cupcake recipes we have on our site include: Strawberry Cupcakes, Oreo Cupcakes, and Pina Colada Cupcakes.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- A simple yet delicious vanilla cupcake recipe you can use for any occasion!
- It makes a large batch so you can feed a crowd.
- It uses staple recipe ingredients you probably already have at home.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE BELOW):
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Large eggs
- Whole milk
- White vinegar
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Kosher salt
- Powdered sugar
- Heavy whipping cream
- Food coloring, optional
- Sprinkles, optional
HOW TO MAKE VALENTINE’S DAY CUPCAKES:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F degrees. Line cupcake tins with liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Adding one egg at a time, beat on medium speed until all eggs are fully incorporated.
- Add the milk, vinegar, and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until combined.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate large bowl.
- Mixing on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Continue to mix until smooth and just combined. The batter should be light and fluffy.
- Fill each well of the prepared cupcake tin halfway full with batter.
- Place the cupcakes on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan for 4-5 minutes. Remove them from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Once the cupcakes are cool, make the frosting. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, vanilla extract, and salt on high speed until smooth.
- Shift to medium speed and slowly add in the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and no clumps remain about 2-3 minutes.
- Add heavy whipping cream and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Optionally, you can add in food coloring and mix until fully incorporated about 30 seconds.
- Add the buttercream to a piping bag and pipe it onto the top of each cupcake. Add sprinkles on top now if using, and serve.
DO I HAVE TO USE FOOD COLORING?
Nope, you can totally leave out the food coloring.
We use a pink gel food coloring for these cupcakes, but it is optional. The food coloring does not add or subtract from the flavor at all, so if you want, just leave it out.
CAN I USE A DIFFERENT FROSTING?
Absolutely, you can use basically any frosting you wish. But, if you are keeping them to Valentine’s theme, I suggest using a light color frosting as opposed to chocolate so you can keep them light, especially if using food coloring.
Other frostings I recommend:
- Cream Cheese Frosting
- White Chocolate Buttercream
- Marshmallow
ARE THERE ANY SUBSTITUTIONS I CAN USE?
Yes, there are a lot of possible substitutions for these cupcakes!
- Instead of using unsalted butter, you can use salted butter in the cupcake cake recipe and frosting. Just leave out the additional salt called for in the recipe.
- In place of whole milk, use 2%
- Instead of adding white vinegar, you can use buttermilk. Just add the same amount of buttermilk to the amount of milk needed and leave out the vinegar entirely.
- Use any flavor extract you desire, or add additional extracts for extra flavor. I suggest orange, almond, strawberry, or coconut.
- Switch out the frosting, see my tip above on that.
- Instead of sprinkles, you can add candies. For Valentine’s Day, I suggest conversation hearts!
CAN YOU MAKE CUPCAKES A DAY EARLY?
Yes, that will save a lot of time.
The cupcakes will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container, so feel free to make them a couple days in advance.
HOW TO STORE:
Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Store leftover cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Allow them to come to room temperature before enjoying them. These cupcakes are best eaten at room temp.
Freeze for up to 3 months. Place leftovers in the freezer in a freezer-safe container. To thaw, place in the fridge overnight or allow to come to room temperature on the countertop.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- This makes a large batch, but you can easily double it to feed more or halve the recipe as needed.
- Tons of custom options, see my tips above on that.
- Use store-bought cake mix if desired, and add the frosting and sprinkles yourself.
- Perfect for a school party or function.
- Use gel food coloring to get a vibrant color.
- They store and freeze well, see my tips above on how to store them.
Have a school function for Valentine’s Day and don’t know what to make? Our Valentine’s Day Cupcakes will be perfect!
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
If you’ve tried these VALENTINE’S DAY CUPCAKES, let me know how it turned out in the comments! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Valentine’s Day Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temp
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk or 2% milk
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For the buttercream frosting
- 1 & 1/2 cups unsalted butter room temp
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- pink food coloring optional
- sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F degrees. Line cupcake tins with liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Adding one egg at a time, beat on medium speed until all eggs are fully incorporated.
- Add the milk, vinegar, and vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until combined.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate large bowl.
- Mixing on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Continue to mix until smooth and just combined. The batter should be light and fluffy.
- Fill each well of the prepared cupcake tin halfway full with batter.
- Place the cupcakes on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan for 4-5 minutes. Remove them from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Once the cupcakes are cool, make the frosting. In a large bowl with an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, vanilla extract, and salt on high speed until smooth.
- Shift to medium speed and slowly add in the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and no clumps remain about 2-3 minutes.
- Add heavy whipping cream and beat on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
- Optionally, you can add in food coloring and mix until fully incorporated about 30 seconds.
- Add the buttercream to a piping bag and pipe it onto the top of each cupcake. Add sprinkles on top now if using, and serve.
Notes
- This makes a large batch, but you can easily double it to feed more or halve the recipe as needed.
- Tons of custom options, see my tips above on that.
- Use store-bought cake mix if desired, and add the frosting and sprinkles yourself.
- Perfect for a school party or function.
- Use gel food coloring to get a vibrant color.
- They store and freeze well, see my tips above on how to store them.
Leave A Reply!